Last call for German Impressionism shows

If you haven’t yet made it over to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston to check out a terrific, eye-opening pair of exhibits devoted to the three leading lights of German Impressionism — Max Liebermann, Lovis Corinth and Max Slevogt — you’ve got between now and Sunday.

Adding important context to that show is Drawing from Nature: Landscapes by Liebermann, Corinth, and Slevogt, a thoroughly absorbing exploration of the trio’s works on paper.

Curated by Dena M. Woodall, assistant curator of prints and drawings, Drawing from Nature’s 40 etchings, lithographs, watercolors and drawings include many works made in preparation for the paintings on view across the Upper Beck Building alcove.

We see Liebermann’s shift from a focus on the peasant culture and rural landscapes of the Netherlands to his fascination with urban gardens that would occupy him through the end of his career.
Perhaps even more so than in the painting show, Corinth reveals himself to be the moodiest master of the group, especially after his 1911 stroke. His drypoint prints are fraught with expressive — even frantic — lines, and his late watercolors are dazzling in their hasty execution.

And we see sides of Slevogt not apparent in his oil paintings as he explores exotic and imaginary locales. A 1914 watercolor depicting a Nile River sunset is remarkably abstract, made up almost entirely of color contrasts. Also on view are some of his 1909 lithographs illustrating James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales. They depict an American West Slevogt never visited, relying instead on Cooper’s descriptions.

Neither show is to be missed, and if you’ve already caught them, there’s no time like the present to take them in one last time.